Signed in 2001, the bill re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), while also significantly increasing the testing requirements for 3-8 grades in reading and math.
The idea of testing and accountability was introduced with the 1988 authorization of the ESEA. School districts used students test scores to determine if progress was being made. If not, districts needed to make improvement plans. In 1994, the authorization pushed states to centralize standards instead of school districts. However, the yearly progress standards were not particularity strict. 1
Major changes that the No Child Left Behind Enacted: 2
States must develop and implement “challenging” academic standards in reading and math
Set annual statewide progress objectives to reach the goal of all students being proficient in 12 years by testing in grades 3 to 8.
Prohibits any federal standards or a national test leaving states the power to set up the tests to follow there standards.
States will receive federal funds to help develop their tests. If the federal government does not provide funding, then states do not need to implement the tests.
For schools who are not making sufficient progress, they can implement programs such as public school choice and free tutoring to get them on track.
Schools had to publish annual report cards that showed student achievement data and demographics.
Schools who did not meet requirements for three straight years were forced to restructure.
Required teachers to be highly qualified if they were being hired with Title I funding.
In the 2015 re-authorization, called the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), states were given flexibility in some of the stricter aspects of the No Child Left Behind Standards if they adopted college and career-ready assessments and standards, implemented school accountability systems that worked to improve the lowest-performing schools and districts were supporting teacher and principal evaluations. 3
For a full overview of the bill, see here.
For the full text of the bill, see here.
Endnotes
1. https://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/the-nations-main-k-12-law-a-timeline.html
2. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/schools/nochild/nclb.html